Top Five Quotes on the Trayvon Martin Case

On Sunday news programs, lawmakers and others discussed the Trayvon Martin case, the national response and President Barack Obama’s Friday comments about race. Washington Wire’s top five comments on the topic from the morning shows:

“I think that the president said what he believed. He tried to make people understand that this is not just about some kid with a hoodie. But I think also we have to look at the fact that there is a broader discussion that we need to have. Yes, we need to have a discussion on race, but we also need to have a discussion on how we are treating poor and minority people in this country.”
–Rep. Marcia Fudge (D., Ohio), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, citing other recent news including the Supreme Court case on the Voting Rights Act, challenges to affirmative action and the removal of food stamps from the House’s farm bill.

“There are events like this that highlight and emphasize the fact that we still have a long way to go. We cannot be complacent in our society when we still have a dramatic disparity between black youth unemployment and non-black youth unemployment when we have these still contradictions in our society.”
–Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.). He said the Martin case also cast a spotlight on the “stand your ground” laws on the books in more than half the states. Laws that give armed citizens extra protection to shoot a perceived aggressor, he said, should be reviewed by state legislatures across the country, including in his own state of Arizona.

“The president said that was him 35 years ago. That’s me on a daily basis, and especially when I’m home in New Orleans and I’m dressed down. It’s something that black men still go through to this day, which is women clutching their purses, hitting the lock button on their doors, or just basic attitudes. And even as a U.S. congressman, as a black man, it is very, very frustrating, and you build up an internal anger about it that you can’t act on.”
–Rep. Cedric Richmond (D., La.)

“It’s not the wrong moment to inject race. I think race is a part of it. … It is an underlying theme or feeling that particularly the African-American community takes away from that, and it has to be addressed. You just can’t leave it on the table because you don’t believe it’s there.”–former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, addressing the argument from some conservatives that it’s wrong to inject race into the Martin case.

“I appreciate and applaud the fact that the president did finally show up. But this town has been spinning a story that’s not altogether true. He did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. He was pushed to that podium — a week of protest outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House pushed him to that podium. So I’m glad he finally arrived. But when he left the podium he still had not answered the most important question: where do we go from here? That question, this morning, remains unanswered, at least from the perspective of the president. And the bottom line is this is not Libya, this is America. On this issue, you cannot lead from behind. What’s lacking in this moment is moral leadership. The country is begging for it. … And I disagree with the president respectfully that politicians, elected officials, can’t occupy this space on race. Lincoln did, Truman did, Johnson did, President Obama did. He’s the right person in the right place at the right time, but he has to step into his moment. I don’t want him to be like Bill Clinton — when he’s out of office regretting that he didn’t move on Rwanda.”–PBS host Tavis Smiley

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Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.